Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, as an ice shaving machine that makes shaved ice powder from a small block ice, the known ice shaving machine is provided with an ice shaving chamber 103 in which is provided a slit 102 that a shaving blade 101 faces, and a cylinder-like rotating hopper 105 that coaxially rotates with a rotary vane 104 (Patent Publication 1).
In the ice shaving machine, a motor mechanism 106 rotates the rotating hopper 105 together with the rotary vane 104, and cubic ice 107 charged into the rotating hopper 105 also rotates with the rotary vane 104 and the rotating hopper 105. This allows the ice 107 to be shaved while being pressed against a shaving blade 101 by centrifugal force, and shaved ice powder to be discharged from the ice outlet cover 108. As the rotating hopper 105 is shaped like a cylinder whose diameter is reduced upwards, ice rotating with the rotating hopper 105 is pressed against the inner wall of the rotating hopper 105 by centrifugal force, and thus subjected to downward force. Consequently, the ice in the rotating hopper 105 descends for the amount of the ice shaved by the shaving blade 101 and continue to be shaved by the shaving blade 101, which thus enables all ice charged into the rotating hopper 105 to be shaved completely.
However, in the ice shaving machine described above, whenever all the ice in the rotating hopper 105 has been shaved, rotation of the rotating hopper 105 must be stopped to supply ice, which is troublesome.
As shown in FIG. 6, as an ice shaving machine for solving such the problem, the ice shaving machine in which an ice stocker chamber 109 is provided above the rotating hopper 105 has also been known. According to this ice shaving machine, a large quantity of ice can be stored in the ice stocker 109. Then, to make up for the amount of ice shaved in the rotating hopper 105, ice is supplied into the rotating hopper 105 from an opening 109a provided on the bottom of the ice stocker 109. As this enables ice to be stored in the ice stoker 109, shaved ice powder can be made in quantity and without much fuss.
The ice shaving machine in Patent Publication 2 has also been known as technology related to the ice shaving machine of the present invention.
Patent Publication 1: Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 62-296843
Patent Publication 2: Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 63-248349